Monday, March 31, 2008

An unimaginable blasphemy shown at the Diocesan Museum of Vienna, Dommuseum, just across the street from the city’s magnificent Saint Stephen’s Cathedral is raising the ire of Catholics around the world. The exhibit, titled: “Religion, Flesh and Power ” included an explicit portrayal of Our Lord and the Apostles at the Last Supper in the midst of a homosexual orgy.

It also included a naked crucifix and a scene of Our Lord’s scourging in which a naked torturer was performing an unspeakable act on His Body.

The worst of the exhibits were removed at the order of Cardinal Schönborn, however offensive depictions are still being displayed.

In addition to the display’s horrendous content, Catholics are riled by its appearance at a diocesan museum. “Both the content of this blasphemy and the place where it is being shown make it stand out amid other blasphemies we have protested,” TFP assistant web editor Michael Whitcraft, “I honestly feel that creating a more offensive blasphemy would take a lot of imagination. I can’t think of how it could be worse.”

Needless to say, this assault on Our Lord cannot go unanswered. Catholics around the world must take a stand to defend His honor. Now you can participate in an international protest and act of reparation.

At the same time you send in your protest, the TFP sister organization in Austria will be holding a protest of their own. Join forces now with Austrian Catholics! Let museum director Bernhard Böhler know (while firm, always be courteous) that Catholics across the Atlantic will not stand by in silence while their God is ridiculed at a diocesan museum. Mr. Bohler needs to apologize and resign. The museum's trustees should give assurances that such an offense will never occur at the Dommuseum again.

Here is all you have to do:

1. Pray for the success of this campaign and in reparation for this blasphemy.

The miraculous fresco of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy.

Does the devotion to the Mother of Good Counsel have any significance for our times?

Undoubtedly, innumerable souls in our disturbed and afflicted times are in need of good counsel in some way or another. They could do nothing better than to implore the help of her, whom Holy Church invokes as Mater Boni Consilii in the Litany of Loreto.

Evidently, the greater the importance of one’s predicament, the greater is the value of the counsel given.

This is the first premise which shows that the devotion to Our Lady of Genazzano is especially necessary in these times, which could go down in history as the greatest period of confusion.

Moreover, if we broaden our horizons beyond our individual lives and consider, from a historical perspective, the crisis through which the Church of God is now passing, we cannot help but conclude that, now more than ever, mankind needs the good counsel of the Virgin of virgins…

The modern world finds itself at the crossroads of a dark, gloomy future, faced by either capitulation before the extremes of evil or an enthusiastic embracing of the plentitude of truth and goodness. The problem is how to move humanity towards the path taken by the prodigal son who returned to his father’s house.

This is impossible without the powerful help of grace speaking in the interior of countless souls. And what better way is there to obtain this good counsel, which must be intimately present in hearts for the salvation of humanity, than to implore the Mother of Good Counsel to convert, through a new grace, the “super-civilized” barbarian of the our times?

Only in this way will we be able to “burn what we have adored and adore that which we have burned,” as did the sub-civilized barbarians of the fifth century. Only then can a new and even more splendorous era of Faith be born. This is the good counsel par excellence that the devotees of Mary must ask for themselves and for all men of our days.

It may appear excessive to some readers that we call these the most confused times in history. Nevertheless, among the many proofs of this assertion, we need only one to justify our affirmation; indeed, it would be difficult to prove that the confusion in Catholic circles has ever been greater than it is today.

Certainly, there were times when the Church appeared to be engulfed by greater confusion. But those crises were struggles that either involved personal matters rather than principles or jeopardized only some principles – albeit basic ones – of Catholic doctrine.

Today, on the contrary, there is no error, no matter so crass or total, that does not seek to cloth itself in more or less new clothing in order to gain free admission into Catholic ambiences. One can say that we are seeing in our midst an open parade of all errors, disguised in sheep’s clothing and deceiving many unwary, superficial Catholics who have but little love for their Faith.

How many concessions, how many acts of false prudence, how many criminal courtships with heterodoxy take place! The confusion is so great that more than a few zealous Catholic circles are regarded with derision or suspicion, while the horde of disguised errors reigns confident.

Describing this scene, we affectionately but apprehensively consider the many souls whose circumstances of life do not permit them to undertake comprehensive religious studies. How necessary it is for them to have the good counsel of Our Lady to overcome this confusion!

It is natural, then, for us to affirm that these times represent the greatest confusion of history and for our lips to plead a supplication to the Mother of God: Our Lady of Good Counsel, pray for us and help us to remain faithful to the Way, the Truth and the Life in the midst of so much rebellion, so much deceit and so much destruction!

To read a short historical account of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Good Counsel of Genazzano, click here.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

"...never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided."

The conclusion we take from this is that we will not be the first ones to be forsaken in history by Our Lady.

In this regard, devotion to Our Lady of the Forsaken is very important.

It started on the first Sunday of Lent in 1409. On his way to preach a homily in the Valencia Cathedral, a friar saw boys cruelly mistreating a group of insane people. The friar defended the unfortunate insane ones, reprimanded the boys, and continued his way, very impressed by the event.

He changed the content of his sermon, including an emotional appeal for charity and for the insane of the city who were left to their misery, subject to abuse.

To make a long story short, charitable souls came forward and funded a hospital to care for the mentally ill who were forsaken at the time. The hospital was founded on March 15, 1410.

It was the first ward for the mentally ill in the world.

Let's turn our attention from mental illness to spiritual illness.

In the modern world, mental illness is far from the gravest of evils.

Spiritual insanity is far worse; sin and the loss of the notion of good and evil are the greatest evils.

So let's pray a nine day novena to Our Lady of the Forsaken, asking her to save us and the souls in our world from the greatest insanity of all: sin!

Prayer

My Lord Jesus Christ, remember that I am a sinner.Blessed Virgin, pray for me. May you always be praised and blessed.

Pray for this sinner to your beloved Son, precious beauty of the angels, prophets and Patriarchs, crown of virgins; save me from the appalling figure of the devil when my soul leaves my body.

O holy source of piety and beauty, joy of heavenly glory, consolation of heaven, rest after work! With you, Virgin most prudent, the angels rejoice.

Safeguard my soul, and the souls of the faithful; pray for us to your most blessed Son and lead us to eternal paradise, where you live and reign forever, and there we will praise you forever. Amen, Jesus.

An unimaginable blasphemy shown at the Diocesan Museum of Vienna, Dommuseum, just across the street from the city’s magnificent Saint Stephen’s Cathedral is raising the ire of Catholics around the world. The exhibit, titled: “Religion, Flesh and Blood” included an explicit portrayal of Our Lord and the Apostles at the Last Supper in the midst of a homosexual orgy.

It also included a naked crucifix and a scene of Our Lord’s scourging in which a naked torturer was performing an unspeakable act on His Body.

The worst of the exhibits were removed at the order of Cardinal Schönborn, however offensive depictions are still being displayed.

In addition to the display’s horrendous content, Catholics are riled by its appearance at a diocesan museum. “Both the content of this blasphemy and the place where it is being shown make it stand out amid other blasphemies we have protested,” TFP assistant web editor Michael Whitcraft, “I honestly feel that creating a more offensive blasphemy would take a lot of imagination. I can’t think of how it could be worse.”

Needless to say, this assault on Our Lord cannot go unanswered. Catholics around the world must take a stand to defend His honor. Now you can participate in an international protest and act of reparation.

At the same time you send in your protest, the TFP sister organization in Austria will be holding a protest of their own. Join forces now with Austrian Catholics! Let museum director Bernhard Böhler know (while firm, always be courteous) that Catholics across the Atlantic will not stand by in silence while their God is ridiculed at a diocesan museum. Mr. Bohler needs to apologize and resign. The museum's trustees should give assurances that such an offense will never occur at the Dommuseum again.

Here is all you have to do:

1. Pray for the success of this campaign and in reparation for this blasphemy.

Friday, March 28, 2008

"Thanks so much for protesting the dirty play at Notre Dame. Several years ago while Fr. Monk Malloy was still president and the play was plaguing the campus, Monica Miller and I drove down in a snow storm and handed out flyers to the theatre-goers. We got out about a hundred flyers each when we were stopped by the campus police.

Her flyer was on "integrity" and mine was a photograph of the Golden Dome minus the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and was headlined, "Is THIS what you want?"

The director of the play held up the picture before the students and said something to the effect of "Is this what we want? Hell, yes!"

In any event it didn't do much good but we did also leaflet Sorin Hall, (where Fr. Malloy was living at the time ), LaFortune Center ( the student social hall) and the Morris Inn.

We were hoping that under Rev. John Jenkins the Monologues would be canceled, but we were wrong. I have written Fr. Jenkins since, to no avail. But thanks for protesting.

Catholics everywhere applauded Bishop John D’Arcy’s recent condemnation of the crude “V-Monologues” at Notre Dame, hoping it would convince university officials to ban the feminist play. After all, the production betrays Notre Dame’s Catholic identity, tramples upon the Sixth Commandment, exalts sin, promotes lesbianism, and gives scandal.

However, ignoring the bishop’s call to cancel the play, university president Fr. John I. Jenkins has again allowed it to disgrace the campus of Our Lady for the seventh time, opening a swath of controversy, disappointment and shame.

TFP Student Action members could not remain silent. Traveling from Pennsylvania to Indiana, they distributed a flyer which echoed Bishop D’Arcy’s statement at the gates of Notre Dame on Tuesday morning. (Click here for a copy of the flyer) Their respectful message urged Fr. Jenkins to ban the immoral play at Notre Dame forever. As the demonstration unfolded, students, alumni and faculty proved that the V-Monologues is being rejected. “Some of us will walk out of the hall when the show begins tonight,” said one student.

A Catholic priest driving through the front entrance of campus, read a TFP banner, paused, pointed to his Roman collar and gave his blessing twice.

Passing cars responded enthusiastically to the “Honk against the V-Monologues at Notre Dame” and “Purity is the Answer” signs. Many gave effusive thumbs up and shouted “thank you” from their cars. “I’m sure the Pope will speak out against this on Catholic campuses. It’s horrible! Catholic schools need to teach Catholic doctrine,” said one student, adding, “Give me more flyers. This is wonderful!”

A single counter-demonstrator wearing a professor’s black robe held a flimsy sign saying, “Men grow up” claiming TFP Student Action had no female support. The longer she stood on the sidewalk the more she saw how mistaken she was. In a few minutes, over 18 women alone honked against the performance. After she left, an additional 85 women honked in support of traditional moral values. Ironically, a pedestrian who called for “dialogue” shouted “No!” when courteously offered our flyer.

Back on the sidewalk, a local resident and Notre Dame Alumnus joined the protest: “The lack of good leadership is acute. We need leaders who won’t cave in to feminist pressure. We need them to preserve our Catholic identity,” he remarked. Others added: “Thank you very much, we are so disappointed in Fr. Jenkins,” “The bishop should kick out Fr. Jenkins,” and one driver pulled over, got out of his car and said, “I want to thank you, I’m horrified by this play.” Several cars that stopped at the intersection for a flyer, heard the slogan “Reject the V-Monologues” and replied “I already do.”

In reaction to the “Purity is the Answer” sign, a student began to cry, visibly moved by TFP Student Action’s message. As the TFP flyer spread throughout campus, some students walked long distances to pick up copies and ask questions about the protest.

Strict Control on Free Speech

As TFP volunteers demonstrated at the intersection of Notre Dame Ave and Edison Rd., two members went to the quad where they distributed flyers titled “Reject the lewd ‘V-Monologues!’” The flyer contained a summary of Bishop’s D’Arcy condemnation of the play. Then trouble came.

While TFP member Cesar Franco shared fliers with students, Associate Vice President for Residence Life, Mr. William Kirk, approached saying: “You can’t do that! Stop handing those out now. Are you a student? Show me your identification.”

Not knowing who this gentleman was, Mr. Franco said he would be happy to show his I.D. to a security officer. The comment did not go over too well and Mr. Kirk immediately got his cell phone and called the police. Meanwhile, he closely followed Mr. Franco everywhere he went. After about fifteen minutes, a campus police officer arrived. Mr. Kirk told him Mr. Franco was aggressive and arrogant. When Mr. Franco attempted to greet the police officer and show him his I.D., Mr. Kirk said: “No. Be quiet. Go over there. Don’t even try to speak.” Then, turning to the police officer, he said: “If he’s a student, write him up.”

The police officer was polite. On the way to the Notre Dame police station, Mr. Franco inquired: “Does Notre Dame have a free speech area?” A little puzzled, the police officer replied, “Yes, the whole university is a free speech zone. You just can’t hand out flyers.”

After Mr. Franco’s photo was taken, he was given a trespass notice, which in part reads:

“…you are not wanted on university property. The university official named below is providing you with written warning that you must leave, and not return to any property owned by the university. If you should be found on university property in the future, you will be arrested for criminal trespass.”

As Mr. Franco read the notice, he wondered if university officials would have acted with equal sternness towards someone passing out flyers promoting the immoral play.

Pray for Notre Dame

Let us redouble our prayers for the restoration of Notre Dame’s Catholic identity. May its leadership follow the Magisterium of the Holy Catholic Church, the directives of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, and reject veiled or open efforts to normalize sins that violate divine and natural law. May its students have the fortitude not to succumb to the pervasive dictatorship of relativism, and have the courage to continue rejecting the V-Monologues and other events which subvert moral values.

Catholics are so disappointed with Fr. John Jenkins, president of Notre Dame, for allowing the crude play on campus for the seventh time, from March 24-26, during the Holy Season of Easter. As you know, the performance tramples Catholic moral teaching, exalts lust and lesbianism and is being used as a vehicle of the sexual revolution to desensitize college students to the truth.

Bishop John D’Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend issued a bold statement condemning the play, its sinfulness and inappropriateness at Catholic Notre Dame. However, Notre Dame continues to ignore his call to ban the play.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

“If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother; he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he seeth not?” (John 4:20).

I dare say that most of us have meditated, though no doubt insufficiently, on the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and through our contemplation we have acquired a sense of what He is like. Imagine, however, the indelible impression that would result were we to have the unmerited grace and inestimable joy of seeing our Savior face to face!

That beatific encounter might recall the sentiments our souls derive from viewing the most sublime sacred images that are the treasures of Christendom. Yet the reality would surely far surpass the God-given talent of the most inspired artist to capture with his brush or of the most gifted sculptor to immortalize with his chisel.

Let us contemplate Christ without literary embellishment or melodramatics. Let us consider the lines of His face, the expression of His eyes, the resonance of His voice, the elegance of His bearing, in sum, everything that could give us a better idea of His Person. In short, let us use our divine gift of reason to guide our inner vision with the light of truth so that we need not grope in the dark.

We shall begin by reflecting on this insight of Saint John: “If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother; he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he seeth not?” The premise that underlies this question is that man was created not only to know, love, and serve God but to help his fellow man do the same. Since man is made in the image and likeness of God, it follows that by studying man we should come to a better understanding of our Creator. Of course, Our Lord Jesus Christ is not merely and, therefore, not principally a man. Being the God-Man, He is principally God. Nevertheless, He is a man in the full sense of the word and, therefore, by studying man we can come to a better understanding of Christ, the perfect Man. And as Our Lord reminds us, “He that seeth Me seeth the Father also” (John 14:9).

Accordingly, we shall analyze man and from our research draw a few principles that will convey something of the adorable Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the process, we will see how our assessment corresponds with Holy Scripture. Thus our meditation is of a philosophical order tested by the Divine Word–a proper and logical approach to our mission.

The make-up of man

To analyze man’s moral and psychological physiognomy, we must take into account his manner of thinking, his moral quality, and his daily life. Reflecting on a man from these perspectives, we will be able to form an idea of his person.

To determine a man’s mode of thought, we must consider his profession, since men generally exercise a profession suited to their mentality. Indeed, the relationship between a man and his profession is akin to marriage.

Before a man embarks on a career, he has the basic aptitude and qualities it requires. Later, through practicing his profession, these skills are developed and refined.Thus a soldier, a diplomat, a doctor, and a priest, in discharging the duties demanded by their calling, acquire characteristics that distinguish them from others of different vocations. By reflecting the characteristics of his profession, the practitioner becomes exceptional, so distinct, in fact, that by discovering his profession we can determine his cast of mind.

King to Victim

During His life in this world, Our Lord exercised aspects of all professions fit for man–from the highest to the lowest. To even begin to appreciate the perfection of His Person, we would have to imagine the archetype of every licit profession known to man. Consider Christ as king. In biblical days, a king held the highest office. Had not Israel even demanded that God give them a king so that they might be like other nations? As Prince of the House of David and Heir to the throne of Israel, Jesus possessed the nobility and grandeur proper to His state. As He entered Jerusalem in triumph that first Palm Sunday, it did not lessen His majesty that He rode in humility on the back of a donkey. To the contrary, the Gospels recount that the people acclaimed Him enthusiastically, sensing His royal grandeur without the prompts of pageantry.

Because His life was one of constant and unremitting struggle, Our Lord was also a warrior, a man of battle. Not only did Jesus defeat and drive out demons, He forcefully confronted the human allies of the Prince of Darkness. Even after He was betrayed into the hands of His adversaries, He humiliated them when, on being asked if He was Jesus of Nazareth, He answered simply, “Egosum.” With these two words Christ cast His antagonists to the ground. What a magnificent warrior: hurling His enemies on their faces with but a simple affirmation!

Our Lord personified the fulfillment of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. He was Priest and Pontiff par excellence. The priests of the Old Testament prefigured His priesthood, and every priest thereafter would share His priesthood as an alter Christus. On Holy Thursday, Christ was the Priest and Victim of the first Mass, which prefigured His sacrificial offering on the altar of the cross.

Diplomat to servant

Our Lord was a perfect diplomat during His public life. Consider how intelligently He thwarted the machinations of the Sanhedrin: here avoiding confrontation with circumspect and artful speech, there mastering it with impeccably judicious rejoinders. Recall the Gospel account of how they sought to trap Jesus by asking Him whether it was lawful for the Jews to pay taxes to the Romans. Christ not only avoided giving His opinion on an issue He chose not to address but dumfounded His enemies with His reply.

And what lawyer could approach the divine Advocate? Reflect for a moment on His goodness and mercy in defending the souls of sinners, understanding attenuating circumstances and the points whereby a person’s defense should be made. No one ever took up the cause of the accused, of sinners, of the poor–of anyone in need of a lawyer–as did Our Lord.

Consider Christ as one who works with his hands, as does a manual laborer. Unthinkable? Have we forgotten the carpenter shop in Nazareth where Jesus worked under the watchful eye of His foster father Saint Joseph?

Christ was a servant, though few kings have washed the feet of their subjects. “But I am in the midst of you, as he that serveth” (Luke 22:27), Our Lord declared, showing how we should live as His disciples.

In sum, were we to list every licit human endeavor, we would find that, in some manner, Christ exercised each with perfection beyond our comprehension. Few men achieve perfection in their chosen profession, rare geniuses in more than one, but only the God-Man in all.

Pattern of all peoples

As the perfection and pattern of the human race, Our Lord embodies all the gifts with which His Father has endowed all the peoples of the earth–the French with their precision, clarity, and spirit; the Germans with their vigor, profundity, and sense of the sublime; the Italians with their gift of theology, subtlety, and diplomacy.

Experience teaches us that God has blessed each people with gifts particular to themselves, and to the degree they embody the spirit characteristic of their culture, they do not reflect that which distinguishes another. One who possesses the delicate and light spirit of the French, for example, is not apt to display simultaneously the vigorous and combative spirit that marks the German.

Our Lord, as we have noted, is the exception to the rule, since as Ruler and Model of mankind, He unites in Himself the gifts and characteristics of every people. Thus at the same time He exemplifies the charm of the French and the strength of the German to an unimaginable degree. And so it is with the best of every race, of every culture, and of every land.

Moved by the Messias

By reflecting on the fact that Our Lord in His Person reconciles all professions and all peoples, we should get some idea of how His contemporaries must have been struck by His superiority, so clearly recorded in Holy Scripture.

Those who followed Christ were rapt in wonder at the outpouring of His resplendently divine gifts. So moved were the multitudes following Jesus that they forgot themselves in His presence. Recall the Gospel account of how the crowds that followed Our Lord into the desert were so satiated by His presence that they neglected to bring anything to eat. Of course, in His infinite goodness–and power–Christ fed the thousands with but a handful of loaves and fishes.

This could not have transpired in a merely natural way. Since Our Lord was the God-Man, above the intellectual perfection of His human nature was the union that His human nature had with the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. From this union flowed a cascade of utterly radiant supernatural gifts.

In Jesus’ presence, people sensed something mysterious and entirely beyond their understanding, which they came to realize was His divinity. They saw at last what Saint Peter professed in reply to His question “But whom do you say that I am?”—“Thou art Christ the Son of the Living God” (Matt. 16:15-17).

Perfection of primordial lights

According to Catholic theology, for the same reason that each one of us feels withing himself a tendency towards a specific sin—usually referred to as capital sin—in he contrary sense, each soul is called to reflect a specific aspect of God by especially shining in the practice of a specific virtue. This has been referred to as the person’s “primordial light.” Thus we may conjecture that as one advances in sanctity, his primordial light becomes more evident. Were we to correspond faithfully to every grace that Christ gives, His light would radiate through our poor selves.

One person tends to be charitable, another loyal, another obedient, and yet another serious and responsible. One is inspired by all that is pure and sublime, another by the severe and austere. One has such a love for our Blessed Mother that he cannot hear her name mentioned without feeling every string of his heart stir. Another is particularly touched by all that surrounds the birth of the Child Jesus, yet another by Our Lord’s Passion. All souls are called to practice all virtues, but a particular virtue shines before each in a primordial, a first light.

Imagine Saint Louis Gonzaga, the personification of purity, and emulate his angelic chastity. Consider Saint Louis, King of France, the embodiment of honor, with uprightness and sincerity written in each line of his noble face. Reflect on Saint Vincent de Paul, an emissary of divine charity, who walked the back streets of Paris rescuing abandoned babies and carrying them in the huge pockets of his cassock to their new homes. Recall Saint Francis of Assisi, who courted Lady Poverty throughout his life, or Saint John the Baptist, who embodied the rigors of God’s call to repentance and penance.

As every virtue reflects its divine Author, Saint Thomas concludes that Christ is the perfect expression of all the primordial lights that were, are, and will be. To that we may add that every saint is nothing more–nor less–than a small spark of the perfection of Our Lord, an inestimable honor indeed.

Man of Sorrows

Just as a fruit exudes its sweetest nectar and displays its most beautiful color when it is ripe, so does Our Lord express His full grandeur in suffering.

In suffering, we see human misery most clearly. Crushed by suffering, man groans, moans, cries, flees, weeps, protests, revolts, and is humbled. Suffering horrifies man, and he is terrified by its prospect, but a man who accepts and even embraces his suffering with courage, acquires a quality of soul that others will never attain.

When I look at faces that bear no evidence of having suffered, I say to myself, “Poor soul, he thinks he he’s lived so many years, but, in truth, he hasn’t lived a single day!” The days of a man’s life should be counted not by the days he has lived, but by the days he has suffered. Suffering tempers the soul of man like fire tempers steel. Only a man who has truly suffered has truly lived.

There are many kinds of suffering. The suffering of a crusader who battles the infidel is not the same as that of the king who sends him into combat. The suffering of a sick child differs from that of the mother who cares for him. Different crosses temper different souls.

Jesus did not endure only one form of suffering. He was the Man of Sorrows. Reflecting on His life, we see that He suffered every sorrow a man could possibly suffer. His soul shone brilliantly with all the facets of the jewel of life that is suffering.

Harmonizer of contrasts

As with the gifts of all the peoples of the earth, Our Lord possessed attributes that were in themselves irreconcilable. He was at the same time the most triumphant Man and the most defeated, the most glorified and the most reviled, the most beloved and the most hated.

In His Person Christ harmonized professions, peoples, and attributes that could not be reconciled in a mere mortal. These harmonic contrasts met perfectly in Him because of the fullness of His humanity and His human sanctity but, above all, because of the unfathomable, divine influx of graces that were His as the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

Having drawn from our meditation on man’s gifts a faint idea of the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we find that He is the perfect and sublime synthesis of all gifts. And that is precisely why our idea of His Person is so inadequate. Christ’s perfection is beyond our present comprehension. “Now we see as through a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12).

Answer to envy

As I note in my book Revolution and Counter-Revolution, beginning around the fourteenth century, a negative and pernicious premise has been fostered by which all who are superior necessarily despise those who are below them. In this light, those who are not great should fear those who are. How can we combat this erroneous view?

Perhaps, in the course of our reflection the thought arose: “This is all well and good, but how could I hope to approach such a Person? One look from His eyes and I would feel like sinking into the ground. Much less would I dare to talk to Him. I would be struck dumb. What could I say that could possibly interest Him? After all, how would the philosophical reflections of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, and the sermons of Saint John Chrysostom, “the golden mouth,” sound in the ears of One who knows everything and has heard all?

Surely when our dear Saint Peter said, “Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinner” (Luke 6:8), he shared our apprehension. He felt so unworthy of Christ’s presence that he wished to vanish from His sight.

Yet, Our Lord affectionately appreciates everything that is virtuous, no matter how small, as a reflection of His Father’s perfect goodness. Thus Christ is the rebuttal to Satan’s lie that the great must despise the small. Our Lord hates evil, but all that is good, however modest, is a tiny spark and expression of the divine and therefore delights Him.

We love that which is great and that which is small precisely because one is great and the other small. We see a majestic eagle in lofty flight: “How magnificent! How beautiful.” We spy a tiny hummingbird hovering over a flower: “How delicate. What a jewel!” Would an eagle the size of a hummingbird delight us? Or a hummingbird the size of an eagle inspire us?

Confidence of sinners

It is true that Our Lord hates sin unconditionally and uncompromisingly. Since He is Virtue itself, He necessarily abhors every taint of evil. Were this not the case, He would not be worthy of our adoration, but while God hates sin, He loves any residue of virtue in the sinner and longs for his repentance and conversion. If Our Lord loves every form and measure of virtue, He loves even that which is but a shadow of virtue. Should He find a seedling of virtue threatened by the weeds of vice amid which it is sprouting, He will nurture and cultivate this fragile flower.

When a soul is in a state of mortal sin, it is dead in the sense that it no longer produces good works. And yet it is the sinner’s faith that moves his heart to repentance and to seek God’s forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance. This faith is a true faith that the sinner has only because God sustains it. Otherwise he would have lost it, and his heart would have hardened and died.

Does God not love the faith that resides in the sinner’s soul? Did He not implant it? Does He not sustain it? Though this faith were the only bond joining the sinner to Christ’s Mystical Body, could Our Lord Jesus Christ, as Head of His Church, despise His own member?

Thus we may understand why great sinners have approached their Redeemer with confidence. Saint Mary Magdalene washed Jesus’ feet with perfume and dried them with her hair. From his cross, the good thief Saint Dismas begged his crucified Savior to remember him when he came into His kingdom.

Their confidence was emboldened because Our Lord is Truth and Goodness, and when the the least vestige of truth and goodness comes in contact with Him it expands and is fulfilled. It is attracted to Him rather than repelled. Fear gives way to faith. It is capital that we understand this aspect of Our Lord.

Fear of the just

But how is it, you may ask, that Our Lord can inspire fear–at times even in the good? On Mount Tabor, where He appeared so covered in light that He frightened His own disciples? Or when He said, “Ego sum,” to the people who arrested Him and sent a wave of paralyzing terror through them?

It is because God is unfathomable, and while His existence can be known by reason, His nature cannot be fully comprehended by our unaided intellect. Were we to he behold Him without divine assistance, we would disintegrate.

Man’s eyes were made for the light of the sun. Without light we cannot see, but if we were to stare at the sun without protection, its rays would blind the very eyes they enable to see. Man himself was created to know, love, and serve God. The light of His Holy Spirit enkindles our primordial light and illumines our way. But were we to look on God’s face without His divine protection, we would surely die. Hence Moses’ encounter with God in the form of a burning bush (cf. Exod. 33:20).

Our Lord did not manifest His qualities all at once during His earthly life. He revealed them little by little until after His crucifixion, His redemptive mission accomplished. Through His resurrection He manifested His unmistakable Divinity for all to see.

Alpha and Omega

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps. 110:10) but it is not the end. The fact that we yet live in this vale of tears and have not been consigned to the unquenchable flames of hell is reason enough to approach our Blessed Redeemer with complete confidence. Our continued presence in this world is a sign that He sees in us the seed of a good He loves, even if its fruit is far less sweet than we imagine.

May the light of Christ, born in our souls at Baptism, enlighten our path in the growing darkness of a world that has lost its way and lead us–like Dismas, our brother–safely home to Paradise.

(Crusade, May-June 1998 . The text of this article was adapted from a talk given by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira to members of the Brazilian TFP in September of 1971 in Sao Paulo, Brazil).

Visitors protest Monologues

Catholic action group believes play conflicts with Church's morals

By: Tess Civantos

From Observer Online

Posted: 3/26/08

A group of 11 protested the presence of the Vagina Monologues being performed this week on Notre Dame's campus at the intersection of Notre Dame Avenue and Angela Boulevard Tuesday March 25. The protestors came from the Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) student action group, and were led by the group's director, John Ritchie. None of the protestors were from Notre Dame, Saint Mary's or Holy Cross College. "We are volunteers," said Ritchie, explaining the group drove from Pennsylvania to protest. He said the protestors are on spring break from Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Institute. "What really motivates us to protest is our Catholic faith," Ritchie said. "Being faithful to the moral teachings of the Church is so important to us that anytime we see something opposing it, we have to speak out." "Notre Dame is an icon of Catholic education in America," said Ritchie, explaining the group's motivation in targeting Notre Dame for protest. "We're protesting the play at every Catholic campus where it's being held," Ritchie added. The Vagina Monologues used to be performed at 36 Catholic campuses and is now only performed at 19, Ritchie said, citing protests as a factor that caused several universities to cancel the play.

By Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

The following text is taken from an informal lecture Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira gave. It has been freely translated and adapted for publication without his revision. –Ed.

The Holy Family is the sublime model of truly Christian families.

Although the Holy Family were of royal lineage, they were poor. The home of the Holy Family in Nazareth was also very poor, but not vulgar or low level.

Throughout the ages, with the exception of modern art, artists depict the inside of the Holy Family’s home as very poor, but very clean and well ordered.

For example, no one would paint a room with Our Lady and the Child Jesus next to an overturned chair. The overturned chair clashes with the spirit of order that reigned in the Holy Family. In general, traditional holy cards highlight two aspects of the Holy Family’s home: absolute simplicity and absolute cleanliness.

*

In the Gospel we read that the Child Jesus grew in grace and sanctity before men. Next to Him, Our Lady was constantly growing in sanctity. And with them was Saint Joseph, the virginal man par excellence, descendent of King David, a man modeled by the Holy Ghost to be proportional to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is the patron of a good death because everything indicates that Our Lord and Our Lady were at his deathbed, helping him until the very last instant to attain the summit of perfection for which he was created. In his last moments, and with his sight fading to this life, Saint Joseph looked to his Spouse and Son, the joy and admiration of his entire life; he saw Our Lord and Our Lady growing in sanctity, going up, always higher and higher. And by seeing them both rising in perfection, Saint Joseph grew in sanctity, going always higher.

The three most holy persons who lived in the humble house of Nazareth were in a constant state of ascension in grace and sanctity.

Imagine for a moment a clock that would count their growth in sanctity. With each second that went by, with each tick-tack of the second hand, one could say the members of the Holy Family grew in grace and sanctity before God and men, until they reached the summit to which each one was destined.

However, the summit of perfection of each member of the Holy Family were different. These summits “loved” and “understood” each other intensely. And in them was a hierarchy desired by God, a hierarchy with an order that was admirably inverted: the head of the household on the human level was the least in the supernatural order and the boy who should obey his parents was God. It was a type of inversion – an inversion that makes one love yet more the richness and complexity of all order that is truly hierarchical.

On the other hand, God willed another mystery in these most noble complexities of the hierarchical order. He willed that Saint Joseph be the representative of the most august lineage on earth. Other lineages, such as the Hapsburg's, are noble because from them came kings, but what can be said about a lineage from which a God was born?

And God willed that Saint Joseph be a carpenter and a king at the same time. In this way, both extremes of the temporal hierarchy were joined in Saint Joseph. Our Lord Jesus Christ is God-Man. The divine and human natures are joined in Him.

In the case of Saint Joseph, we have a carpenter-king. In the case of Our Lord, we have a creature-Creator. In both cases, there is the union of the intermediary elements of hierarchy by the union of its most extreme points.

Let’s imagine something that will help us to understand this. It is something slightly prosaic, but illustrates the point. Watch someone playing an accordion. He squeezes the ends of the accordion and brings the whole instrument together in one compact block.

Here we see the hierarchy in the Holy Family as a chain of tall mountains, mountains so tall our eyes and mind must strain to understand all they represent. But there’s more. In the Holy Family is represented a united hierarchy, an unequal yet affectionate union of the entire social order. In sum, here we see the highest lovingly embrace the lowest and say: “We are all one.”

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Contrary to what many artists claim, protesting against offensive art is never free publicity. Few things hurt the arts community more than when it produces works that lose touch with its supporting community.

This is especially evident in the wave of artworks which many consider blasphemous. Nothing attacks the sensibilities of a community more than an attack upon religious belief. After community protests, museum curators and artists nationwide are now starting to learn the chilling effects of such offensive displays.

Repercussions of a Protest

More than two years have passed since the display of Alma Lopez’s image of the Virgin of Guadalupe posing in a floral bikini held aloft by a topless female angel at the state-run Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe.

For months, this “piece of art” titled “Our Lady” divided the community. The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) and its America Needs Fatima campaign organized protests, worked together with local activists, and held a rally in front of the museum uniting nearly one thousand offended Catholics from all over New Mexico and at least seven other states. The museum admitted that it received over 65,000 protest postcards from all over the nation.

In a fascinating retrospective look at the controversy, reporter Teri Thomson Randall of Santa Fe’s The New Mexican (5/20/03) chronicled the painful rift the work caused within Santa Fe. It is a revealing lesson in just how effective protests can be.

She reported that the art community has not forgotten the controversy. Curators looking for new exhibits now seek to avoid offensive works especially those mixing sexuality and religious themes. Tom Wilson, former head of the Museum of New Mexico, told the reporter that he believes he lost his job in part over his refusal to remove Ms. Lopez’s offending work.

Avoiding Controversy

Because works of “art” are rarely taken down during protests, many are tempted to think that such actions are ineffective. The real effects are often hidden.

However, as Teri Randall’s article inadvertently indicates, anti-blasphemy protests are successful beyond all expectations. Protests are reaching more than just individual theaters or museums. Rather, directors, owners and curators nationwide are feeling the effect and weighing carefully the consequences of blasphemous art. Many of them are simply opting out altogether.

Indeed, well-organized protests can be most efficient. In the case of Santa Fe’s Museum of International Folk Art, one protest prevented innumerable other museums from straying from the mainstream and venturing into the often bizarre subcultures that insist upon producing blasphemous “art.”

Self-Censoring Equals Not Offending

Due to protests, curators evaluating future exhibits must now be more careful in their choices. While some have labeled such policies as “internal censorship,” it is actually a greater sensitivity and restraint in determining what the public wants. Teri Randall claims that pressures “to not offend museum visitors” in Santa Fe have been particularly strong since the “Our Lady” controversy.

Ironically, Catholic protesters have not called for censorship on the part of anyone. However, by protesting, they have obtained something much more effective than censorship: the respect of the arts community that no longer feels it can offend Catholics with impunity.

As part of the fallout from the Lopez controversy, Ms. Randal cited two incidents where curators avoided placing specific works by two potentially controversial artists in a New Mexican exhibit.

One of them was painter Delmas Howe whose “Stations: A Gay Passion” mixed religious and homosexual themes in the context of Christ’s Passion. Another artist, Judy Chicago, pulled out of an exhibit when curators objected to aspects of her work, “If Women Ruled the World.”

A Change of ClimateTeri Randall also interviewed Tom Wilson, the former director of the Museum of New Mexico. Mr. Wilson refused to remove “Our Lady” from the museum, although he conceded to protesters by closing the entire exhibit four months early.

Although Mr. Wilson was not told why his contract was terminated, he believes it was partly because of the “Our Lady” controversy. He cited then-gubernatorial candidate Bill Richardson who said he was offended by “Our Lady” and backed Archbishop Michael Sheehan’s efforts to have it removed from the state-supported museum. He lost his job after Gov. Richardson’s election.

Mr. Wilson believes a new climate has descended on the arts establishment where curators might pick one work of art over another because one is “too hot to handle or more cutting-edge.” Even in cases where an offensive piece is considered, museum directors might reject it so as not to force their employees to confront controversy.

Public Input Now Sought

Another effect of the Santa Fe protest has been a revision in the policies of the Museum of New Mexico which allows more opportunity for public input on exhibits.

The Sensitive Materials Committee now meets quarterly, and any staff member can bring up issues at any time, from the planning stage to the opening of an exhibit. The committee can also request input from members of the public and experts.

By putting these measures into effect, museum officials hope to avoid being “blindsided” as in the case of the “Our Lady” exhibit where they did not foresee public outrage and controversy.Meaningless SlogansAll of this is the product of one protest which so many dismissed as ineffective. Others parroted the slogans of those who say protests give publicity to blasphemy.

The fallout from the Our Lady exhibit proves just how wrong such slogans are.

The truth of the matter is that protesting makes blasphemy unwelcome. Protests create a rift between the art community and the rest of society which, in the “Our Lady” exhibit, proved hard to bridge.

Indeed, the arts establishment in Santa Fe learned the hard way that when it loses touch with the community, it becomes irrelevant and offensive to the common man in the street.

Reconnecting with Society

Traditionally, the object of art is beauty and it was the task of the artist to find expressions of beauty as it appeared in the context of daily life and culture. The artist existed for society, interpreting the legitimate aspirations and tastes in society’s noble quest for the good, true and beautiful. Society and the artist shaped and reflected each other.

Today, so many modern artists have thrown out objective criteria for beauty. Indeed, their obsession for breaking with tradition has been aptly called a cult to ugliness. Worst of all, they have lost that symbiotic connection with society. They no longer interpret society’s aspirations but impose their own views upon society. These artists lose touch with social reality and embark upon a quest to shock, doubt and rebel.

Perhaps one day art will return to beauty.

Until then, protests can make the cult to ugliness and blasphemy unwelcome.This page printed from: http://www.tfp.org/TFPForum/Tendential_Revolution/santa_fe_chill.htm

Monday, March 24, 2008

On a recent trip to Fatima, I stopped to spend a night in the city of Obidos, Portugal. As I stood atop the walls of that medieval city, I felt almost as though I were breathing history…but not just any history. I was filling my lungs with a Catholic combative history.

With each arrow loop I passed, my mind’s eye could see a 12th century Portuguese knight, bedecked with armor, ready to risk life and limb to defend Christian civilization against hordes of Muslim invaders. I could hear the alarm bell calling the peasants from the fields to seek shelter behind the walls on which I stood.

As my mind drifted back and forth across a threshold of 900 years, I compared the society I envisioned to our own. The stark contrast overwhelmed me. Medieval Christian man possessed a vision of the Church that has been all but lost in our days.

Unlike modern man who sees the Church and asks: “What is in it for me?” he saw the Faith and asked: “How can I serve?” Thus, he was willing to make any sacrifice and oppose any enemy in defense of the Faith.

While these reflections passed through my mind, I remembered a lecture Brazilian TFP founder, Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, once gave on the crusading spirit. In it he logically developed the theory that true adoration of God can only exist when one has the spirit of a crusader.

Original Sin and Self-seeking Friendship

Prof. Corrêa de Oliveira’s reasoning was very clear. After Original Sin, man’s tendency is to befriend only those who are pleasing to him, and furthermore to seek a personal advantage in such relationships.

The resulting friendship is based on self-love, not love of others. Thus, it cannot be considered true friendship.

Coupled with this self-seeking tendency, fallen man has a loathing of sacrifice. This tendency is so strong that it requires a tremendous effort to overcome.

A typical medieval building in Obidos, Portugal.

A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed

However, to develop true friendship both of these tendencies must be surmounted. Thus, true friendship only exists when one is willing to sacrifice himself for his friend without seeking personal advantage. The more one is willing to sacrifice for his friend, the deeper and truer that friendship is.

Our Lord stated this on the night before His Passion, saying: “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Thus, the greatest love one can attain is one by which he is willing to sacrifice everything for his friend.

Additionally, friendship is tested when a friend is threatened. Then one’s willingness to sacrifice is proven. That is why many veterans attest that the greatest friends of their lives were made during war. The daily sacrifice a soldier is expected to make for his friends, seals a bond that is almost unbreakable.

Adoration and the Crusading Spirit

Applying these principles to God, we are not called simply to be His friend. We are obliged to adore Him. If simple friendship cannot exist without a selfless spirit of sacrifice, adoration definitely cannot exist without it. Therefore, true adoration can only exist when one is willing to stand up for God and defend Him, even at the risk of losing his life. This willingness is the very definition of the crusading spirit.

Standing on the castle bulwark with these reflections rekindled in me a crusading spirit.

Rekindling the Crusading Spirit

As I stood atop the walls of Obidos with these considerations running through my mind, I was able to put my finger on one main difference between the world of the Middle Ages and our own.

Medieval man had the crusading spirit. The Faith and God were of much more importance to him than technological advances or material prosperity. When the Faith called him to travel thousands of miles to a foreign land with little hope of return, without hesitation, he shouted a resounding: “Deus Vult!” (God wills it!)1

Could it be that the lack of this spirit has contributed, in large part, to the moral decadence of our days? If our society as a whole would stop living selfishly as though God does not exist and adore Him with the abnegated worship that characterized the Crusaders of old, society would undoubtedly be different.

Such reflections, standing on the castle bulwark rekindled in me a crusading spirit. I could only pray that Our Lady rekindle this crusading spirit among Catholics and thus establish the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart on earth.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Three days after the piety of His followers had buried Him in the tomb, Our Lord resurrected.The Resurrection represents the eternal and definitive triumph of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the complete defeat of His enemies, and the strongest argument for our faith. Indeed, St. Paul says that if Christ had not resurrected, our faith would be in vain. All the foundations of our beliefs are based on the supernatural fact of the Resurrection. Let us therefore meditate on this lofty subject.

* * *

Much has been said… and many have smiled about the reluctance of St. Thomas in admitting the Resurrection.

Perhaps there are some exaggerations about the incident. However, we certainly have before our eyes today examples of incredulity incomparably more obstinate than that of the Apostle.

Indeed, St. Thomas said that he needed to touch Our Lord with his own hands before he would believe in Him. However, upon seeing Him, he believed before he even touched Him.

Saint Augustine saw something providential in the Apostle’s initial reluctance to believe in the Resurrection. The Holy Doctor of Hippo says that the whole world was held in suspense by the finger of Saint Thomas. By insisting upon touching the wounds, he established a high degree of meticulousness as the basis for believing. In so doing, St. Thomas’ action guaranteed to all timorous souls in every age that the Resurrection was truly an objective fact, and not the product of exuberant imaginations.

The fact remains that at least Saint Thomas believed as soon as he saw Our Lord. How many today see but don’t believe?

For example, we see this obstinate incredulity in face of the miracles verified in Lourdes. The miracles are evident. There is a “bureau” that receives medical testimonies in Lourdes using meticulous standards. Only instantaneous cures are registered. Diseases cannot be of a nervous character or curable by any process of mere suggestion.

Several things are required to prove that a patient has a real disease. First, the patient must be examined by a doctor before he enters the Grotto. Second, all the patient’s medical records must be presented. Finally, the patient’s cure must be verified by the same examination used to verify the illness. Moreover, the cure is only really considered miraculous when the illness does not return after much time.

How can one reject such proof? How many have the nobility to act like Saint Thomas who, when placed before the undeniable truth, knelt and blatantly proclaimed it? Our Lord seems to multiply these miracles to the degree that impiety increases. Yet is there anyone who has the courage to do a serious, impartial, irrefutable study before he denies these miracles?

***

Christ Our Lord was not resuscitated, He resurrected. Lazarus was resuscitated. He was dead. Somebody other than him, namely Our Lord, called him from death back to life. However, nobody resuscitated the Divine Redeemer. He did not need anyone to bring Him back to life. He returned to life when He wanted.

That which refers to Our Lord has an analogous application to the Holy Catholic Church. Throughout the history of the Church, we frequently find times when all appears irremediably lost. All the makings of a near catastrophe seem ready to destroy Her Body. In these moments, however, something always happens that keep Her alive against all the expectations of Her enemies.

A tranquil certainty in the power of the Church to resurrect can be found at the feet of Our Lady. This tranquility entirely stems from a supernatural spirit, and not from indifference or indolence.We have to consider that she alone kept her faith intact when all circumstances appeared to prove that her Divine Son was a total failure. The Body of Christ was taken down from the Cross.

Every last drop of blood and water had been shed at the hands of His executioners. His death was not only confirmed by the testimony of the Roman soldiers, but also His own followers who buried him. An immense stone was put into place to seal permanently His tomb.

All appeared lost, but Mary Most Holy believed and remained confident. Her faith kept her so secure, serene and normal during those days of supreme desolation just as it had kept her in every other moment of her life. She knew that He would resurrect. No doubt, not even the slightest one, tainted her. Therefore at her feet, we should ask for and obtain a steadfast faith and a spirit of faith. We should make of this request the supreme ambition of our spiritual lives.

She is the supreme mediatrix of all graces and example of all virtues. She will not deny us this special grace that comes from the Resurrection.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

I will never forget it: Eight years ago, in the pre-dawn hours of Holy Saturday, government officials shocked the nation by taking the small Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez at gun point into custody. Then sent him back to Communist Cuba.

The photos of this shock removal of an innocent boy to send him back to Cuba against the wishes of his mother's family who wanted him to stay in the United States, still are very fresh in my mind.

Today, Elian lives in Cuba, but the home from which he was abducted became a museum dedicated to him.

In 2000, TFP-America Needs Fatima supporter Sergio dePaz brought a pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima to the home where child Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez spent four short months.

The six-year old boy was rescued at sea while escaping from Communist Cuba.

While gazing at the statue, Elian said: "She is the nice lady that protected me for 24 hours on the water, but she did not have that thing [the crown] on her head.

"Elian’s relatives also reiterated their firm belief that Our Heavenly Mother will protect him now in Cuba, until the coming of her reign, which she foresaw in Fatima when she said, "Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!"

As I prepare to celebrate Easter, I remember that on the first Holy Saturday, the Blessed Virgin Mary was the only person alive who maintained the fullness of faith in the victory and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. She never wavered in Her faith in Her Divine Son's Resurrection.

Today, I pray to Our Lady that She give me complete Faith in the coming of Her reign, which she foresaw in Fatima when she said, "Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!"

For Cuba, the United States, and the whole world. Like we pray for every day in the Our Father: "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven!"

Friday, March 21, 2008

The judge who committed the most monstrous professional crime in all history was not impelled to do so by the excitement of any burning passion. Nor was he blinded by ideological hatred, by craving for new riches, or by the desire to please some great potentate. He was moved to condemn the Just One by fear—fear of losing his position for apparent lack of zeal for the prerogatives of Caesar; fear of causing himself political complications by having displeased the Jewish mob; and the instinctive fear of saying no, of doing the opposite of what has been asked of one, of facing the crowd with attitudes and opinions different from those that prevail there.

For a long time, O Lord, Thou didst fix him with that look which in one instant worked the salvation of Peter. It was a look through which one could see Thy supreme moral perfection, Thine infinite innocence. But he condemned Thee anyway.

O Lord, how many times have I imitated Pilate! How many times, out of ambition for personal advancement, have I permitted orthodoxy to be persecuted in my presence without saying a word. How many times have I stood by with my arms crossed at the fight and martyrdom of those who defend the Church! I did not have the courage to give them even a word of support because of an abominable slothfulness to face those who surrounded me, to say no to those around me, for fear of being “different from the others.” As if Thou hadst created me, Lord, not to imitate Thee, but to slavishly imitate my companions.

In that painful moment of condemnation, Thou didst suffer for all cowards, for all weaklings, for all the lukewarm…for me, Lord.

My Jesus, pardon and mercy. By the fortitude Thou didst show me in braving unpopularity and facing the sentence of the Roman magistrate, cure the weakness of my soul.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be. V. Have mercy on us, Lord. R. Have mercy on us. V. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. R. Amen.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Historically, Catholic universities have been beacons of truth. They have set a standard of intellectual progress and moral excellence. They have elevated culture, formed the minds of great men, and paved the way for abundant scientific breakthroughs.

However, these beacons of truth are now failing. Moral values are being undermined on many Catholic campuses and the principles that once guided souls in the noble task of higher learning are being ignored. The secular model has invaded, allowing moral relativism to run wild. As a result, the sexual revolution is making its way into Catholic academia. The moral devastation is impossible to ignore. A response is long overdue.

For a list of Catholic universities that allow pro-homosexual clubs, and for more detailed information regarding this moral crisis on Catholic campuses, click here.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The American TFP’s America Needs Fatima campaign (ANF) is offering a special privilege to all those planning to lead public square rosaries on October 11, 2008. It will send a rose to Our Lady’s Fatima shrine in the name of each one.

America Needs Fatima offers this as a token of gratitude for the work these “rosary captains” are doing. Our rosary captains are struggling to publicly honor Our Lady on October 11, so, I wanted to give them a present that would glorify Our Lady and grant them graces.

The roses will be taken to the site of the 1917 apparitions. Being that Our Lady’s Fatima apparitions are the most spectacular intervention of Our Lady in modern times, I could not think of a better place to bring these roses to offer them symbolically to the Mother of God.

You too can become a rally captain and lead a Rosary in your area. Join now by clicking here.

The following considerations are summarized from the original text of a conference given by Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira.

Although not an exegete, I naturally try to reason things out. Knowing that nothing happens fortuitously in the New and Old Testaments, it is according to the good rules of exegesis to ask why Our Lord fell three times.

This was not mere chance, like a plumber who falls three times while carrying a very heavy pipe. He fell once because he stumbled on a stone, another time because he was really tired or a third time because he was lazy. It was not something accidental.

Since Our Lord fell three times, the number three must correspond to high considerations and elevated reflections about weariness, suffering and even the number three itself. Therefore, I will try to draw conclusions from the fact that the tiredness of Our Lord Jesus Christ was manifested in three falls as He carried His Cross.

I cannot investigate this matter as an exegete, but rather as a reasonable man with common sense.

Legitimate and Illegitimate Tiredness Clearly, there are two forms of tiredness. One is illegitimate, which Our Lord did not have. The other is legitimate tiredness that Our Lord did have.

Illegitimate tiredness exists when a person lacks love of God and carries his burden unwillingly. This is the tiredness of the slothful.

For example, a man who is accustomed to sleeping twelve hours a day, wakes up tired and spends the whole day tired, because he is lazy. Obviously, Our Lord never had this tiredness since He was Perfection Itself.

True Tiredness Has Three Degrees of Intensity

The First Degree: When Common Energies Become Exhausted Common experience teaches us that there is also the tiredness of an active or dedicated man, which has three degrees of intensity. There are also three corresponding degrees of exertion and human resistance. Thus, it is reasonable to imagine that these three degrees relate to the three falls of Our Lord.

The first degree of tiredness is when a man carries a burden until all his common energies are exhausted and falls under its weight.

The very act of falling causes him to recover a bit and he has a second inspiration, whereby he mobilizes his more profound energy. Admirably controlling his body, he calls upon all the latent strength inside him. Although not accustomed to mobilizing this energy in daily life, he harnesses it and forges ahead.

During the first fall, man reasons: “This is terribly difficult! I cannot do it. However since it must be done, I want to carry this burden and make this effort despite its difficulty. I want to make this act of dedication and accomplish my mission.”

He reflects: “If I really dig deep, maybe I can summon new courage and find the strength I need to continue.”

Thus, there is a second mobilization of the soul’s energy. The soul makes a greater effort and moves on until the next fall: the second degree of tiredness.

The Second Degree of Tiredness: The Soul Makes Use of All It Has and Falls Again In this second degree, the soul reflects: “I mobilized all that I had and did all that I could. Still, I have fallen again under the weight of this burden. Now, my energies are more exhausted than during the first fall. Nevertheless, I have already drawn from myself more than I ever imagined possible and I still want to move forward. I don’t want to give up.”

Tempted to discouragement, he considers: “Although my mission is noble and worthwhile, the weight of my burden has increased.” He has no more energy, so he increases his prayers and turns to Our Lady, saying: “My Mother, thou seest that, on my own, I can go no further. Either thou wilt help me more than before, or I will be unable to do what thou biddest me.”

Observing himself more closely, groping honestly through his energy reserves, he finds that there is still something left to sacrifice. His prayer has been answered. Besides the energy of which he was unaware, he finds new supernatural strength that permits him to continue. He rises a second time and advances, supported more by the angels than by himself.

He realizes that there was something more to give. Though unable to walk, he can still drag himself along. He has decided to accomplish his mission, even if he has to ask God for a miracle.

The Third Stage of Tiredness: Everything Is Exhausted In the third stage, he falls once again. He is a wreck and realizes he no longer has any capacity to resist. His available energies are completely exhausted. Still, he does not give in. He turns to himself and says:

“I must hope against all hope. Although I only have energy to stand, I must at least get back on my feet and try to take one step. Beyond this, everything is blind confidence, a dark night and total exhaustion, but I will walk no matter what. I will arrive at the end.”

He gets back on his feet and walks. In so doing, he gives something from the very depth of his being that he never imagined he possessed. He exhausts what truly is the last breath of his soul and performs the most complete act of love. Only then, when he gives himself entirely does he attain the clearest vision of his ideal.

He rises from the third fall, and takes a few more stumbling steps to arrive at the place of sacrifice. There, he is nailed to the cross and utterly immolated.

The Three Degrees Summarized These are the three degrees of tiredness, which correspond to the three stages of human dedication. In the first stage, one expends the energy that he knows he has. He asks for Our Lady’s help and the common assistance of grace.

In the second stage, he expends energy he scarcely thought he had and asks Our Lady with greater insistence to send special help, because he doubts that he can continue to walk with only the common assistance of grace.

In the third stage, he gives something far beyond what he thought he had. He finds a capacity for dedication and effort, beyond what he thought was possible. He advances amid total darkness, more by a miracle and absolute faith, than by any natural means.

Nevertheless, he continues to move forward. Finally, he fulfills his mission by a truly miraculous action. He is completely united with the supernatural.

When the Soul Has Given All It Can, It Attracts Souls To the degree that he rises after each legitimate fall, man increasingly exudes the beauty of self-denial. This increases his capacity to attract others, because men loath egoism and flee from it. Men only follow those who deny themselves. Thus, only the man who has reached this ultimate point of self-denial and given all he can, is ready to attract souls.

This is why Our Lord, after having fallen three times, was ready to be shown to all peoples from the height of the Cross. He had already passed through this interior immolation. He had been despoiled of everything.

Still, the inexpressible sublimity of the Crucifixion takes place after the sacrifice is made. Our Lord had already carried the Cross all the way to Calvary and there, with even greater pains, allowed Himself to be crucified. His suffering increases until the moment He pronounces the “Consummatum est.” However, with the Crucifixion, He ceases to carry the Cross. From the moment He is nailed to it, the Cross carries Him.

There are stages in the spiritual life of every man, where he must carry his cross. Moreover, at times Our Lord calls man not only to accept what befalls him, but also to seek out what is terrible, tragic and apocalyptic and advance towards it. Only then, is he ready to go where Our Lord wishes. Then, he is ready to be nailed to the Cross and unite himself with Christ for all time.

Therefore, there are two stages and three dimensions of suffering. The first stage is to meet the Cross. The second is to let oneself be nailed to it. In the first stage, man goes to the apex of renunciation, successfully despoiling himself. In a second stage, having arrived at the apex of renunciation, he disposes himself to remain in it throughout his life and the cross becomes his support.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

The venerated image of Our Lady of Hope Macarena is of unknown author, being attributed to several sculptors. What is taken as certain is that it is a work made in the XVII C.

In March, 1881, Emilio Pizarro y Cruz undertook a restoration "of the body of the Virgin, made the mannequin and arms, eyelashes, mended the tears and restored some slight damages".

In March 1884, was carried through a new restoration of the Image of the Most Holy Virgin of Hope Macarena, on which they set new eyelashes. On December 18, 1925, the first Besamanos (A ceremony to kiss the hand of a Virgin), of Our Lady of Hope Macarena was held.

On February 24, 1936, the image of the Virgin of Hope is secretly moved from the Parish Church of St. Giles to the private house of D. Antonio Román Villa, at 6 Orfila St., fearing that St. Giles´s Parish Church might be set on fire.

During the Spanish Civil War, she was protected form desecration and vandalism by putting her in a coffin-like case and buried; these series of protection was done by her hermandad, the well known Hermandad dela Macarena of Seville, which giving the image a very delicate and good care. In 1978, Francisco Arquillo Torres made a new complete restoration of the image.

Picture of the chapel where the famous statue of Our Lady of Hope of Macarena is venerated in Seville, Spain.

You can see a bruise on the image's cheek. My Spanish friends tell me that it came from a drunk man who once threw a beer bottle at her and hit her on the cheek. It left the bruise that you can still see on the statue now. According to these same Spanish friends, some artists have attempted to cover over the bruise on Our Lady's cheek, but have never been successful since the bruise opens up again miraculously as soon as they finish the repair job.

After the drunk man became sober, he repented for his attack on Our Lady. In reparation, he decided to put chains on his feet and carry a cross in front of the Macarena during Holy Week.

This is a picture of the the only exact life-size copy of Our Lady of Hope of Macarena in existence, which we are honored to have at the headquarters of TFP-America Needs Fatima in Spring Grove, PA.

America Needs Fatima is distributing copies of My One Hour Meditation booklet, written by the fiery Catholic leader Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, to encourage its members to do more prayer and reparation before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

The professor's words are very clear concerning the task that confronts the faithful:

In this moment in which Holy Mother Church is attacked from so many angles, let us not fool ourselves that all is well. Let us recognize that the hour is grave and view future threats in a manly, Christian manner. We need confident, resolute, prayerful, battle-ready spirits, ready to sacrifice.

Such is the example our Divine Master gave us. He sought to be alone with God so that He could measure the full scope of the sorrow awaiting Him, and take His stand before this perspective.

These inspiring meditations within the book- let help us share Jesus' sorrows today when He is profaned by such sins as the recent homosexual "wedding" in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, and in America, radical homosexuals from the Rain- bow Sash movement entering churches and receiving Holy Communion while defiantly wearing their sashes.

These public sacrileges are very painful and repugnant to every true Catholic, and in reparation for these grave sins, America Needs Fatima members are increasing the time and frequency of their visits to console Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament by using My One Hour Meditation booklet.

As we celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph, it is important to remember that he is the leader of the Church's world war against Communism, as mentioned in the encyclical Divinis Redemptoris of Pius XI:

11. To hasten the advent of that "peace of Christ in the kingdom of Christ"[48] so ardently desired by all, We place the vast campaign of the Church against world Communism under the standard of St. Joseph, her mighty Protector. He belongs to the working-class, and he bore the burdens of poverty for himself and the Holy Family, whose tender and vigilant head he was. To him was entrusted the Divine Child when Herod loosed his assassins against Him. In a life of faithful performance of everyday duties, he left an example for all those who must gain their bread by the toil of their hands. He won for himself the title of "The Just," serving thus as a living model of that Christian justice which should reign in social life.

More than ever, we beg Saint Joseph's intervention in world events where we see so many Catholics adopting a tragic complacency with Communism, the inexorable enemy of the Church.

Saint Joseph, Universal Patron and Protector of the Church, pray for us!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

The American TFP’s America Needs Fatima campaign (ANF) is offering a special privilege to all those planning to lead public square rosaries on October 11, 2008. It will send a rose to Our Lady’s Fatima shrine in the name of each one.

America Needs Fatima offers this as a token of gratitude for the work these “rosary captains” are doing. Our rosary captains are struggling to publicly honor Our Lady on October 11, so, I wanted to give them a present that would glorify Our Lady and grant them graces.

The roses will be taken to the site of the 1917 apparitions. Being that Our Lady’s Fatima apparitions are the most spectacular intervention of Our Lady in modern times, I could not think of a better place to bring these roses to offer them symbolically to the Mother of God.

You too can become a rally captain and lead a Rosary in your area. Join now by clicking here.

And I promise to take a rose to Our Lady of Fatima for you if you will become a rally captain and lead a rally on October 11, 2008, the Saturday closest to October 13.

Last year, we took 2,200 roses to Fatima to honor Our Lady and for We also took a large banner with the names of all 2,179 rally captains that had signed up by the time of our departure for Portugal.

We purchased the roses in Madrid, Spain and drove them 384 miles to Fatima on Friday afternoon, October 12, before the evening candlelight rosary procession. We set up a huge display of roses as close as we could to the chapel of the apparitions and unfurled the banner along with large posters proclaiming what was being offered to Our Lady.

In a matter of minutes, a very large crowd of pilgrims gathered around the small crew that was setting up the display and began asking questions.

Explanations were given as boxes upon boxes of roses were unpacked and set up. Everyone wanted to be part of what was happening and tried to help place roses and hold the signs or banner. One might have observed that the ambience was a little disordered, however, it was definitely a fruit of enthusiasm and most certainly blessed by grace.

As soon as everything was in place, members of America Needs Fatima took pictures of the completed display. This action seemed to trigger an even larger group to crowd around to be in the picture or ask for a rose. Later, two of the posters and many of the roses were left on display in the sanctuary.

We proudly took our large banner with the Rally Captain names to the candlelight procession so that in some way these 2.179 Catholic leaders would be represented in the procession.

Thus, on this special day, all the Rally Captains were remembered by name and a rose. It was most definitely an honor for all of us to participate in offering Our Lady this small token of our gratitude for all that she does for us.

It was also an opportunity to thank her for the abundant graces that so many received at the Public Square Rosary Rallies and to ask her for yet more graces in the days to come.

South Bend, Mar 13, 2008 / 01:14 pm (CNA).- John D’Arcy, Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, has responded to the decision by the president of Notre Dame to allow the performance of the Vagina Monologues, calling the play “pornographic” and “spiritually damaging.”

“As bishop of this historic diocese, entrusted with the spiritual welfare of all those who live within its borders, including the students at our beloved Notre Dame, I believe that, once again, I must publicly and respectfully disagree with Father Jenkins’ decision,” Bishop D’Arcy said, in a written statement posted on the website of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

The bishop encouraged Father Jenkins to reconsider his decision to allow the play for this year and for future years.